The cards are simply amazing. I have used them in both the long-form, laying them out properly as directed by Francesca to get a full reading about a particular problem. But more usually I use them as a means of gaining insight into the way I’m feeling that day, finding the energy/colour that would be most helpful.

So I have a pack of the cards by my desk and pick one when I have thought through exactly what the issue is. It always stuns me how absolutely spot-on the card is, how the word and the colour resonate, and how right the information in the book for that card is. I shouldn’t be flabbergasted but I always am.

Thank you, Francesca - they’re a real joy to have in my life, which is something I’d never say about a pack of cards!

The cards are wonderful, they have had such a positive effect on my life.

Using them is both revealing and empowering. I have used them many times and the chosen card is always interesting.

It can be obvious or unexpected.

For example, recently, I was struggling with the very serious business of how to put systems in place to balance being a mother with expanding my artistic career. The chosen card was bright red, REVELRY. My reaction was immediate 'this is no laughing matter!'. In fact the longer I sat with the card the more sense it made. What a strong vital colour. A colour of celebration, of passion, of potential. The potential of being an artist and a mother! It jolted me out of my seriousness and it was with a more positive and confident attitude I started organising.

Writing a novel is a solitary business requiring ridiculous amounts of stamina and self belief. Inevitably there are moments when I write myself into a dead end and doubts creep in along with a general feeling of gloom. It is on occasions like this that I use the cards. I experience them as messages from the gods, nudges in the right direction and occasionally a boot up the backside.

I often use them when I am frightened or have lost faith. They almost always revive my optimism and sense of humour, both crucial to completing a project as long as a novel. They offer a sort of psychic break and an opportunity to look at myself from the outside and assess what I might need.